Be part of building a new Ireland

“Since May 2011, the Department of Culture,
Arts & Leisure in the North have put the promotion of Equality as its
single most important priority.

Sinn Féin are ensuring that inclusion and long-term sustainability for the
Irish Language, Sport, Art - as a few examples - is central to providing access
and participation across society.

Through an investment package of £110m, DCAL will provide a sustainable
economic and social framework for the development of sports stadia for gaelic
games, soccer and Rugby.

We have persisted with the development of robust Social Clauses, which have
essentially ring-fenced opportunities targeted at those in most need, pursuing
a living wage for workers and securing benefits for local businesses.

Since our last Ard Fheis, my department has been central to the success of the
City of Culture in Derry, which embraced among other events, Fleadh Cheoil na
hÉireann, the Return of Colmcille and then some.

In 2013, we also hosted in Belfast, the World Police and Fire Games, which seen
over 7,000 athletes and visitors coming together from across this Island and
across the world.

Let's look forward to Derry's bid for Irish City of Culture in2016!

In the area of sports, angling, waterways & canals and language - Sinn
Féin will ensure that partition does not prevent or impede access to
opportunities that I've just outlined.

With the Haass Talks receiving a lot of
attention in the North recently, an incident in my department last year
epitomized the British government’s attitude to what happened in the North
during the conflict.

Relatives of those that had lost loved ones
during the conflict had been trying to get inquest papers into these historic
cases but had been blocked by the Public Records Office, the NIO and the
North’s Department of Justice.

As keeper of the records I overturned this
decision and released the papers to the families.

The British Secretary of State, the PSNI and
the Department of Justice took a midnight court injunction to try to prevent me
from doing this but failed.

As I said at the time: there was no credible or
compelling reason for withholding the files. I don’t believe the public records
office was in a position to make that decision independently, I think that
decision was mine to make.

This was a deeply significant step forward in the
demand for truth recovery. These are public records about public inquests and
court hearings, which have already been heard and reported in public so the
question is - why try to prevent them going to the families?

This is an example of a decision being taken by a local,
accountable minister and about the rights of citizens. Decisions being made
about people that live here need to be made by those that live here, not by
some fly-by-night English politician who wouldn’t know Ballymurphy from
Ballymun.

In 2011 we launched the Líofa 2015
initiative with the aim of having 1000 more fluent Irish speakers in the North.
Such was the response that we have changed that target twice and currently
there are over 5000 signed up to the Líofa initiative.

Those that have signed up have come from
all walks of life and many have been people who would not normally have been
associated with the Irish language. I am delighted about this – the language
belongs to everybody.

In the spring of this year the Líofa initiative
will - in conjunction between my department and Jimmy Deenihan’s department in
the 26 counties, be launching Líofa the length and breadth of Ireland so that
every Irish person can sign up.

The Irish language respects no borders or
partition of Ireland - neither will Líofa.”